SWABI: Awami National Party’s provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak on Wednesday said his party would continue to fight for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rights to ensure a prosperous future for the people of the province.

He was addressing a workers’ convention held in Topi tehsil.

Mr Babak said that KP would not have lagged behind had it been paid the electricity royalty in its true sense by the federal government. He said that the ‘discriminatory’ policy of the centre was no longer acceptable to ANP.

“Our struggle is for the rights of the people of the province,” he said, adding ‘discriminatory’ policy of the federal government had infused a sense of deprivation among the people. He said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ruled the province for two consecutive terms, but it failed to highlight these vital issues.

He insisted that ANP believed in a prosperous Pakistan in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.

Mr Babak said that lawlessness had destroyed business and industrial sectors in the province, creating unemployment.

“Investment is not coming to KP and capital is going out because of unrest caused by terrorism,” he added.

On the occasion, Iram Bibi, central vice-president of the ANP’s Women Wing, said that PTI leadership had made only empty claims during its government and misled the people. She said that their hollow slogans and pledges exposed when the party left the power corridors. She said that Imran Khan’s party had been divided into two groups and its future seemed dark.

The gathering was also addressed by Shah Nawaz Khan, the ANP candidate from NA-18, Swabi-1, and mayor of Razaar tehsil Ghulam Haqqani.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2023